Economy

WSA: Global Steel Production Recovered in March

Written by David Schollaert

April 25, 2022

Global crude steel production was estimated at 161.1 million metric tons in March as steelmakers around the world expanded output by 18.4 million metric tons, or 12.9%, from the prior month, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported.

Since reaching an all-time high of 174.4 million metric tons last May, global steel output had waned in seven of the last ten months, driven largely by Chinese cutbacks. Though global production as a whole rebounded MoM in March, the double-digit percentage growth was driven by China’s 17.7% surge in steel production – a gain of 13.3 million metric tons versus February. Output in the rest of the world rose MoM in March by 7.5%, or 5.1 million metric tons, worldsteel said.

Steel production worldwide was down 8.1 million metric tons, or 4.8%, last month when compared to March 2021 but up 3%, or 4.6 million metric tons, when compared to the pre-pandemic period in March 2019.

GCSP Mar22

Chinese steel output accounted for 54.8 of worldwide production in March, up 2.2 percentage points MoM.

Nine out of the top ten global steel-producing countries saw production increases MoM in March. China reported the largest percentage and total tonnage gain versus February, followed by India (+800,000 tons, or +7.9%), Japan (+700,00 tons, or +9.6%), US (+600,000 tons, +9.4%), and South Korea (+500,000 tons, or +9.6%) rounding out the top five.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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